Honestly, if you’d told me five years ago that the most controversial thing in gaming in 2026 would be a gorilla’s eyebrows, I’d have laughed. But here we are. Ever since the first real glimpses of Donkey Kong Bananza hit our screens, the internet has been in a bit of a tailspin over the new Donkey Kong design.
It’s weird. We’ve known this ape for decades. He’s the guy who threw barrels at Mario in 1981, the 3D-rendered icon from the Rareware era, and the furry powerhouse in Tropical Freeze. But the version we’re seeing now? It’s something else entirely.
Why the Change Actually Happened
Nintendo isn't just changing things to be annoying. Shigeru Miyamoto himself has been pretty vocal about the "why" behind this shift. In a series of interviews throughout 2025, Miyamoto explained that the move toward the new Donkey Kong design was driven by a need for expression.
Think back to the Rare-era DK. He had that perma-furrowed brow. He looked tough, sure, but he was sort of locked into one "mood." Miyamoto pointed out that while games like Donkey Kong Jungle Beat tried to push the envelope, the tech just wasn't there to make him truly emote like a modern character should.
The goal with the new look—which officially debuted in Donkey Kong Bananza on the Switch 2 and was heavily teased in Mario Kart World—is to make him feel "alive" in a way the static, 90s-inspired models couldn't.
The Movie Connection: Chicken or Egg?
Most people assume the new Donkey Kong design came from The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It makes sense, right? Seth Rogen’s DK had a specific look, and now the games match.
Except, it’s actually the other way around.
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Kenta Motokura, a key director at Nintendo, dropped a bombshell in an "Ask the Developer" session last year. He confirmed that the team working on Donkey Kong Bananza started developing this look as far back as 2018. The movie team actually looked at the early game assets for the Switch 2 project to decide how the cinematic DK should look.
So, if you’re blaming Illumination for the "softer" DK, you’re technically blaming Nintendo’s R&D department.
What’s Different? (Looking Under the Fur)
If you haven't put the models side-by-side yet, the differences are subtle until they aren't.
- The Head Shape: The iconic "pipsqueak" hair tuft is still there, but the skull structure is wider. It's less "aggressive ape" and more "animated lead."
- The Eyes: This is the big one. His eyes are larger and placed slightly further apart. This allows for a much wider range of pupil movement, which you'll notice during the "Bananergy" transformations in Bananza.
- The Wardrobe: Yes, we have to talk about the overalls. While classic DK is still the default, the new era has embraced customizability. In Bananza, you’re digging up fossils to unlock different fur colors and even outfits for DK and Pauline.
- The Textures: On the Switch 2 hardware, the fur isn't just a "fuzz" layer. You can see individual strands reacting to wind and the "destructive" physics the new engine is famous for.
The "Rare" Era vs. The "Nakaue" Era
There’s a lot of nostalgia for the design created by Kevin Bayliss back at Rare. Even Bayliss himself weighed in on the new Donkey Kong design, basically saying "change is good."
But fans are split. Some feel the "edge" is gone. The Rare design had a bit of an intimidation factor. The new one? It’s been compared to a "food mascot" by some disgruntled Redditors.
However, looking at the gameplay of Donkey Kong Bananza, it’s hard to argue with the results. The way DK reacts when he's drilling into the ground or soaring through the air in his "Ostrich" form is lightyears ahead of anything we saw on the original Switch.
Is it Here to Stay?
Basically, yes.
Nintendo is notorious for sticking to their guns once they’ve "unified" a character’s look across media. With the new Donkey Kong design featuring in the Super Nintendo World expansion at Universal Studios Japan and across all major Switch 2 titles, the Rare-era look is officially a legacy asset.
We saw the "final" version of the old look in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, which hit the original Switch in early 2025. That game was a love letter to the Retro Studios style, but it was also a passing of the torch.
What You Can Do Now
If you’re still on the fence about the new look, the best way to see it in action isn't through compressed YouTube trailers.
- Check out the "Ask the Developer" archives: Read the full Kenta Motokura interview to understand the technical limitations they were trying to break.
- Look for high-bitrate Mario Kart World footage: The character models in the Switch 2 version of Mario Kart are often more detailed than the adventure games because there’s less "world" to render at once.
- Experiment with the "Bananza" Skill Tree: Use the fossil-trading system to find a fur color or style that fits your personal preference if the default brown feels "too dark" as some players claim.
The new Donkey Kong design is more than just a fresh coat of paint. It’s a fundamental shift in how Nintendo treats its first-ever star. He’s not just a heavy-hitter anymore; he’s a character with the emotional range to carry a 3D platformer that actually rivals Mario Odyssey.
Change is weird, but in this case, it's what allowed the "destructive" gameplay we're all currently obsessed with to actually work.